


never quite in place, seen better days (love her anyway)

by galaxyjun



Series: "gay rights!" - kim doyoung [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Agender Kim Jungwoo, Drag Queen Kim Jungwoo, Fluff, Non-Binary Charcter, Trans Character, Trans Girl Mark Lee, it's all platonic but they're very cute either way, jungwoo uses they/them pronouns!!, mark just gets a crush on anyone who smiles at her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 20:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17087468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyjun/pseuds/galaxyjun
Summary: jungwoo places their hands on their lap, tilting their head, smiling sweetly. “so.” they say.mark swallows, glancing nervously over the table. “ah.” she declares, gnawing at her bottom lip.jungwoo snorts. “don’t be afraid.” they laugh. “it’s just a little makeup.”*Or; drag queen jungwoo teaches trans girl mark how to do makeup, because you all wanted ittitle from "wildewoman" - lucius*this fic has also been plagiarized. the plagiarized version is titled “you and me, it’s a fun party (make love, let’s dance)”.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suncts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suncts/gifts).



> for nik bc trans girl mark is FINALLY here!!!

mark’s hands are sweating.

they have no reason to be. it’s just jungwoo. mark and jungwoo are friends. jungwoo is smart, sweet, funny, and scathing. they’re great. mark loves them. the day they met, jungwoo had walked up to her and said “hey, i’m jungwoo, the moderately friendly drag queen.”

an absolute gem.

but still, mark finds herself restless. because jungwoo is friendly, yeah, but they’re also just straight up _intimidating._ there’s just something about their aura, or something. it that just puts mark a bit on edge. it’s why she’s never really hung out with jungwoo alone. 

at least, not before today.

it’s all donghyuck’s fault. most of mark’s problems usually are donghyuck’s fault. he had been complaining about affordable binders and The Second Coming Of Puberty, and jungwoo had asked him if there was anything they could do to help. and donghyuck, _the piece of shit that he is,_ said “nah. but mark needs some help with makeup.”

so it’s a saturday morning and mark has cleaned her room three times because jungwoo is coming over, and it’s all donghyuck’s fault.

the doorbell rings and mark shrieks, falling off her bed. “coming!” she shouts hastily, stumbling over her feet and sliding over to the door. she throws it open, beams a big grin, and shouts an incredibly nervous “hey!”

jungwoo’s lip twitches. “hey yourself.” they say in response. they look absolutely _incredible,_ too good for a saturday morning, jean skirt and green turtleneck with winged eyes and pouty nude lips. mark shuffles, suddenly too aware of her own sweats and raggedy crop top that’s really just one of renjun’s shirts.

mark waves a hand. “uh, come on in!” she declares, still obviously nervous. she’s always had trouble with controlling her voice when she’s nervous. she absentmindedly starts tugging on the ends of her hair, freshly bobbed thanks to ten’s hard work.

jungwoo toes off her converse as mark continues to ramble. “so, yeah! this is my apartment, uh, as you can see. i hope it wasn’t too much trouble to find it, when jasmine first came over it took them like a million years to find my place but do you want any drinks, like juice or soda, i don’t have coffee sorry, it gives me the shits— that’s gross, i’m sorry—“

“mark.” jungwoo says gently. mark snaps her mouth shut. “do you wanna show me where you’d like to do your makeup?”

mark nods meekly. jungwoo snorts, hiding their smile behind their hand. “lead the way.” they say, still as sweet and pleasant as ever.

it’s hard to believe that jungwoo and zeus are the same person. that this jungwoo whose hands are swallowed by the cuffs of their sleeves is the exact same jungwoo that did a death drop in ten inch heels last friday. jungwoo is little giggles and sweet smiles and butterscotch melting across your tongue. zeus is scathing comments and full bodied cackles and a fifteen dollar shot that’s literally just vodka. 

mark is sufficiently terrified of both.

but she still leads them to her room, waving her hand at the vanity that johnny helped her set up last week. “johnny said that the light was best here so…” she trails off, shrugging a little. it’s kind of ridiculous how nervous jungwoo makes her. like, pretty people have _always_ made mark nervous, but it’s never been this bad. it’s like jungwoo renders mark incapable of human function.

but jungwoo takes it in stride, smiling warmly at her. “awesome!” they say. “i wasn’t sure what kind of makeup you have, so i brought some of my stuff.” they lift the black handbag in their left hand. it looks like it weighs more than renjun does. mark is thoroughly intimidated.

“oh, wow, thank you.” she stammers, genuinely floored. “that. actually helps a lot… i only really have like… foundation and eyeliner… y’know…”

jungwoo puts the bag on the vanity. “all good markie, you’re a beginner after all.” 

mark laughs awkwardly. “yeah so, should we sit down and get started?” she offers. jungwoo sits down on her bad. mark sits down at the vanity.

neither of them say anything.

_wow._ mark thinks to herself. _i fucking suck._

jungwoo places their hands on their lap, tilting their head, smiling sweetly. “so.” they say.

mark swallows, glancing nervously over the table. “ah.” she declares, gnawing at her bottom lip.

jungwoo snorts. “don’t be afraid.” they laugh. “it’s just a little makeup.”

mark groans, burying her face into her hands. “makeup is _terrifying.”_ she hisses. jungwoo only laughs harder. “i’m serious! it’s like all these sticks and spikes with chemicals that you slap onto your face and some-fucking-how it all works out and i just?? don’t get it???”

“and what do you think i’m here for?” jungwoo snickers. mark feels her ears burn.

“shut up.” she mutters, rubbing at her cheeks, trying to push the blush down with sheer brute force. jungwoo doesn’t shut up, unable to stop their laughter. mark glares. “jungwoo, _please.”_

jungwoo sighs. “kid, you’re adorable.” they sigh. mark only burns brighter. but jungwoo either doesn’t notice, or spares mark the humiliation and doesn’t tease her any further. instead they lean back, crossing their ankles, and ask “why don’t you show me what you do know how to do? we can start there.”

mark nods, pulling out the single bottle of foundation that donghyuck got her to start off with. she pumps out a small amount onto her fingers, and smears it across her face.

“what the _fuck?”_ jungwoo blurts. mark freezes, fingers pressed into cheeks. jungwoo stares at her, mouth agape, like they just saw a ghost. “mark, what are you doing?”

mark blinks. “i’m… applying foundation?” she says hesitantly.

jungwoo opens their mouth. closes it. opens it again. sighs a big heavy sigh and then presses their fingers to their temples. “okay, sweetheart, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” they say, resolutely, and mark feels real fear set into her stomach.

_this_ is why mark is scared of makeup.

cause jungwoo’s sat her down into the vanity chair and is unpacking little boxes and pulling out smaller boxes and laying out a million kinds of blushes. there’s eighty types of eyeshadow, some of which are colours mark didn’t even think _existed,_ and there’s swatches and sponges and a whole array of lip products that have at least forty different suffixes that mark isn’t sure are real words.

jungwoo lays them all out, waves a hand at them, and asks mark, “so, what kinda look do you want me to give you?”

mark, trying not to hyperventilate, blurts out “a good one.” quite possibly the dumbest thing to ever come out of her mouth. she’ll probably top herself sooner than later, but it still makes her cringe and sweat with embarrassment. 

jungwoo pauses, then sighs. “mark…” they start, quite hesitantly. “you can… you can trust me, y’know.”

well _that_ was the last thing mark wanted.

“i trust you!” she shrieks, rocketing to her feet. she grabs jungwoo’s hands clasps them tightly. “jungwoo, oh my god i trust you so much, you have no idea, it’s just…”

and words have always been mark’s strength. throughout her life, through the move and her coming out and her first love and first heartbreak and university and everything, words have been a solace. a life saver, a fall back, anything that mark has ever needed. they’ve kept her alive, tethered her to this earth from where they are, littered across her homework and her napkins, tucked away in her notebooks and written into the margins of her existence. 

but that’s the thing. written. when it comes to writing, words are mark’s best friend. when it comes to speaking, words are mark’s worst nightmare.

which is why they completely fail her in this moment. which is why she completely fucks it up. which is why she blurts out “your makeup is just kinda scary.”

_wow mark._ she thinks. _what the fuck was that korean literature minor for._

but before mark can fall to her knees and apologize, jungwoo just blinks once, surprised. then a smile spreads across their face, and they say, so kindly, “mark, i’m not doing drag makeup for you.”

mark’s ears burn. “i know.” she mumbles, looking at their connected hands. hers are stupidly clammy, but jungwoo doesn’t pull away. “i just… i don’t think i’m ready for like? anything like that??”

“like what.” jungwoo says gently. they run a thumb over the back of mark’s hand, and very slowly, the tension eases its way out of her frame.

“like. the big wings. the red and yellow and blue stuff. the heavy lipstick. the contour.” mark shrugs. she still can’t meet jungwoo’s eyes. “i wanna wear makeup and look pretty but not that stuff, at least not yet, and there’s just _so much stuff—“_

“okay first of all,” jungwoo interrupts, squeezing mark’s hands once. “you’re already so fucking pretty, and you don’t need makeup to be pretty.”

mark bites her lip. “i don’t think i need makeup to be pretty…” she mumbles.

“positive affirmation is always good.” jungwoo smiles, reaches out a hand to brush a stray strand of hair behind mark’s ear. it lingers, cupping her cheek for just a moment, and jungwoo’s eyes grow warm. “you’re beautiful mark.”

mark coughs, embarrassment pressing against her lungs like a bowling ball. “thanks.” she mutters, shifting in place.

“you’re welcome. but most importantly, you don’t need all of that to do makeup mark.” jungwoo says. such a simple sentence, yet it brings mark’s world to a halt.

“what?” she blurts, disbelieving. “but why… why’d you bring…” she pulls her hand away, waving at the table. 

and to her never ending surprise, jungwoo’s smile turns sheepish, their cheeks turn rosy, and they duck their head with a shy laugh. “yeah…” they sigh, looking up at mark with an embarrassed smile. “let’s just say… i wanted to make sure i did a good job.”

mark blinks. for some reason, she forgot that even though zeus cocks their neck and licks their lips and walks like a prowling lion, they’re still jungwoo. jungwoo, who is spunky and fun but hopelessly earnest and sweet. jungwoo, who is snarky and sharp but gentle and loving. 

“oh.” mark says.

jungwoo’s eyes twinkle. “yeah.” they smile. “so, how about you sit down, close your eyes, and i’ll try and do something you like, okay?”

mark nods. “sure.” she says faintly, and lets jungwoo guide her to the table.

when mark was thirteen, just toeing her way out of the closet, donghyuck had dragged her to a mac kiosk in a department store. “can you do my friend’s makeup for me?” he had asked, digging through his pockets for his wallet. mark, too overwhelmed to protest, closed her eyes, let the makeup artist do her work. let the brushes jab and prod, lipstick push and smear. let them make her up. 

and when she opened her eyes, it took her a minute to realize she was looking into a mirror. the artist said that she had tried to work her jaw into a softer line, contour her cheeks into a gentler angle, shade her nose into a cuter shape. 

she didn’t recognize herself at all. 

but jungwoo tilts her jaw with the gentlest touch. ghosts their brushes across mark’s face, barely even noticeable. speaks calmly and soothingly, describing everything that they’re doing. it’s nothing like the mac artist, carving her into someone new. it’s something softer, sweeter, like a flower unfurling in the sunlight, or a the tide pulling away from the shore.

mark loses herself in jungwoo’s fingertips, and it feels like no time at all passes when jungwoo whispers “open your eyes.” mark does.

and looks at herself in the mirror.

her eyelids are bronze and shimmery, sparkling in the sunlight streaming through the window. her lips are soft and glossy, pink and full and sweet. her cheeks are rosy, sparkling. but just ever so slightly. brightening her face, sharpening her eyes, drawing out the little parts of her face that mark kind of liked before, bringing them front and centre. 

made up, but still mark.

mark touches her cheek. “woah.” she breathes.

jungwoo catches her gaze through the mirror. “yeah.” they say proudly. their smile is gentle around the edges but wicked through and through. it’s beautiful.

mark thinks she might be too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> donghyuck is a trans boy and jaemin's gender is currently ???? but they use they/them pronouns. why? fuck u.
> 
> [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/maplemarkle) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/kyunset)


	2. plagiarized

if you can, please report https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089538 aka the plagiarized version of my fic. scroll down to the bottom and click "report abuse" and then give your reasoning as "plagiarism". In the description box either say that this is a plagiarized version of a fic by galaxyjun or just include the link https://archiveofourown.org/works/17087468 in the box. it would also be great if you could ask for the ao3 staff to actually do something about this by either banning the user or restricting access to the orphan account. thank you so much, and i'm really sorry to ask this of you.


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